The Great Chili Dog Heist
by keeper37
Summary: Cute little ditty I thought of today. Sometimes you got to be a good parent and have fun with your kids even if you know you'll get bit in the ass in the end. And besides, who doesn't love chili dogs?


**Author's Note:**

Just a fun little ditty I conjured up today. Got inspired to write this from this picture here: art/Royal-Chilidog-Heist-378409592

I just thought it was pretty funny and as much as I'd rather not use the term, I'd be lying if I would say it's not a cute little story. Sometimes you got to be a good parent even if you know you'll get bit on the ass in the end. Hope you like it and as always-

Read, Review, and Enjoy!

(As much as you are tired as shit of hearing this, if you've read anything else of mine, I'm looking to improve my writing so any advice/pointers would be greatly appreciated.)

* * *

The Great Chili Dog Heist

It was the high life. Often for princes and princesses, large parties were a regular occurrence nearly every weekend. Then again that was for normal princes and princesses.

Since Sally Acorn and Sonic the Hedgehog took the throne of the Kingdom of Acorn, they had to adjust to the pampered lifestyle of royalty. It was strange at first but after a good number of years they came to see it as normalcy just as in their youth fighting a tyrant on a daily basis was seen as normalcy. Sally was never really the flashy kind of princess. In her youth she could count more calluses than diamonds in her possession. She never was one for wearing pink dresses; pink wasn't even her favorite color. She was more adorned with dirty denim vests and rough broken in boots than the typical attire of a princess. And it may not even be worth getting started with her spouse.

Sonic probably would have spin dashed himself if he saw where he would end up in life; dealing with political matters with a sparkly crown on top his spines. The hedgehog was suited for action, high-speed adventures and danger with every trotting step of his speedy feet. He couldn't possibly slow down for a life of royalty.

But those times had come and gone and sooner or later everyone sees the point in their life where slowing down becomes a necessity. King Sonic Acorn with his wife Queen Sally Acorn were the current rulers of the Kingdom of Acorn and with the title dragged all the formalities that the two were not quite accustomed to at first. Toils, trials, and tests had reversed that aspect and now they were quite good at the whole royalty deal. But through one stage of trials and onto the next and the two found themselves with the even tougher job of parenting. Parenting twins even. Sonia and Manik were nearly five years old and were more of a handful than the king and queen could ever imagine.

Coordinating the full time job of parenting and their expected duties as rulers of an entire kingdom had its ups and downs. But it had seemed that all those years of fighting for their country, fighting to get back their families, and fighting alongside the Freedom Fighters, their other family, they never let go of the importance of family. Ensuring to take time out for their kids at sometimes was a priority for the two nobles, as should be with any parents. But it also helped to have some down time with friends and others their own age.

It was already dark and the night lights of the city of Portal shimmered and glistened out the large window from the king and queen's penthouse city home. The preparations for one of their parties were nearly complete as the time ticked down until they heard the first buzz from the doorbell.

"Sonic, can you make sure we have enough champagne for the party?" Sally's disembodied voice shouted from through the kitchen wall and into the living room where Sonic sat on the couch with one leg rested over the other scanning through the guest list to make sure there were no discrepancies and that no one was left out.

"Just a second honey!" Sonic shouted back. He took a few more scans through the list before concluding that everything was well. He placed the list on an end table next to the side of the couch he currently resided on. Quickly springing to his feet, he extended his arms to catch his crown as the sudden momentum caused the thing to slide off his head. He managed to nab it before it hit the ground and gently adjusted it back on his head. "Damn thing always falls off." He mumbled before heading to the kitchen.

He poked his head inside the open door to see Sally standing there in her golden-brown dress, that matched her fur perfectly, while many of their maids were running around each other with a variety of cooked and uncooked food, side dishes and desserts as if they were involved in a frantically choreographed dance. "Helga, place the casserole near the turkey. It'll be easily reached by most of the table." The queen ordered as a koala skid across the floor with a steamy platter in her hand.

"White or brown gravy?" A duck shouted from one side of the kitchen.

"Brown!" Sally shouted in response. Sonic was hesitant to squirm his way up to her as she continued to hand out commands.

Sonic managed to scoot up to his wife in amongst the chaos. "You called?" He asked completely forgetting anything but that fact that she summoned him, not even realizing she already told him his task.

"Hey babe." She said and quickly gave him a peck on the lips that was cut short as she pulled away just as quick as she went in for the kiss. "No! Jorge, put the moose back in the fridge! Save it for after the main meal." She barked and pointed as a badger made an immediate about face and headed back to the refrigerator with the large bowl of rich chocolate.

"Sally?" Sonic was a bit confused at not only what task she had lined up for him but what was going on.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing?" He asked in the same baffled tone as his eyes fluttered with all the high energy in the room. The vast difference in scents from all the foods, spices, and platters entered his nose at once causing occasional differentiation of the different dinner options and occasional mixing to make one distinct smell of a vast meal.

"Prepping the dinner." Sally answered quickly.

"I–" He stopped as a larger panda squeezed between Sonic's tail and the counter across from him. He moved closer to Sally to let the woman pass while continuing. "I got that." The panda had passed the tight space and Sonic moved back a bit more to gain some more comfort room. "I mean why are you doing it and not Bridget?"

"Kind of wanted to be in charge of something." She smiled. "You know get some action again."

"In charge of something?" The hedgehog let out a chuckle. "As if running and entire country wasn't enough." He sneered.

"Ha!" Sally responded with a single laugh. "Can you go check if we have enough champagne?" She asked him, getting back to the subject at hand.

"Sure." Sonic said as he turned and moved toward the walk-in cooler that the large residence had for the specific reason of parties such as this one. As he took another step, a single scent separated from the rest as his head spun instantly around to see a certain maid dressed in her normal black and white gown. But it wasn't the maid he was starring at. Time slowed down as he mindlessly walked forward with his eyes somewhere away from his trajectory and on the large platter of chili dogs the maid hoisted in the air over the bustle of the rest of the cooks and maids. His mouth began to water as the saliva prepped for the delectable food his eyes were resting on. He could feel a sudden twinge in his stomach as it created a spot specifically for the sloppy treat.

But his fixation ended as he ran straight into another chef. Time resumed as a small bowl of brussel sprouts flew in the air. Sonic landed flat on his tailside along with the other chef he ran into. Sonic rubbed his head from the effects of the collision as it started to rain down small green shrubs. "Watch where you're going!" The echidna he ran into mouthed off as he too rubbed his head. But his aggressive tone quickly faded as the chef looked up to see who it was. "Oh! Sorry sir! I'll be more careful next time!" The boy said as he quickly got to his feet to help the king up.

That was one thing Sonic would probably never get used to… "No, it's fine." He said looking around for the dream dinner he saw mere seconds prior. "It's my fault." He finished as the chef got back to what he was doing. Sonic stood in perplexity at where the mystery plate of chili dogs had vanished to. But unfortunately it had escaped.

He went to check the cooler and spent the next couple minutes finding out if everything was in place and if the presumed count was correct for the champagne. Once he found that everything was good in the cooler, he slowly walked out of the kitchen all the while looking back to see if the heavenly food had reappeared but it hadn't.

"Hey daddy?" He stopped to see his little princess standing in front of him. She stood there with her favorite pink shirt and tiny jeans, tugging at the fur on her father's leg.

"Hey kiddo." Sonic reached down and picked her up, positioning his arm like a seat for her to rest on. "What is it?"

"When's dinner going to be ready?" She asked in the normal child tone of hers.

"Once Lara-su gets here to babysit your mother and I will have a plate prepared for you and Manik alright?" Sonic explained as he walked with her in his arms across the living room.

"Yeah but when will that be?" She beckoned.

"Not too much longer ok?"

"Will there be chili dogs?" She asked him. Sonic stopped as he pondered the question. The vast number of dogs on that plate surely wasn't for the kids. Even he couldn't down that whole plate on his own – well not at his current age at least. It must have been for the party so he dismissed the possibility that he wouldn't get to indulge in his favorite food but he honestly had no idea whether his kids would be as fortunate.

"I don't know. I'll have to ask your mother." Sonic said as he continued walking.

"…I want chili dogs…" The little Sonia whined as they continued moving toward the living quarters of the penthouse.

"Well you still might alright? Now come on," He took her down the hall and toward the bathroom. "Let's get you bathed and cleaned up for when Lara-su gets here."

"But daaaddddd!" She squealed again showing her disapproval of her father's plan.

Sonic positioned his arm so that Sonia could lean back a bit so they can look at each other one-on-one. "Hey young lady, I don't want to hear it. You're taking a bath."

The young princess slumped in Sonic's arms and crossed hers across her chest. "Ok…" She reluctantly accepted.

"Now I just have to find your brother…"

…

Most of the hustle and bustle of the dinner preparations were complete as the kitchen now seemed to clear up a bit. It seemed Sally had not moved one bit since Sonic's last encounter with her as she stood with a clipboard and pencil in hand, checking off the dishes that were ready from a list on the clipboard. "Pretty much done." Sally said once she noticed her king walking into the kitchen. She placed the clipboard on the counter behind her and proceeded to lean on it resting from the job.

"Well that's good." Sonic said as he got closer. His previous curiosity was still plaguing his mind and he tried to sneak a peek at the list on the counter. He moved his head to Sally's side but she unintentionally moved to block his view.

"Have you given Sonia and Manik their baths yet?" She prosed.

Sonic continued to try to see past his wife but her movements still blocked his view from the list of foods. If it wasn't so obvious that she was oblivious to his intentions, he could have sworn she was thwarting his plans at taking a gander at the list on purpose. "Not quite." He responded by glancing down at the counter in one last effort to see if chili dogs were on the list of dinner options before accepting defeat and moving on. "Got Sonia in her room and told her to get ready while I went searching for Manik…Found Manik then Sonia had run off… Tried to get Manik to sit still while I went to retrieve Sonia again…" Sonic explained piece by piece how his efforts to gather their troublesome offspring had failed. "My mom is lucky I didn't have a sibling. Those kids are hell sometimes!" He jeered motioning his hand slightly in the air for mere emphasis. He then moved to the side and leaned on the counter. He must have put his hand in some remnants of the prepared food because instantly he could feel something slick and moist even through his glove. He quickly removed his hand from the counter and started flopping it about to remove whatever gunk was on it.

Sally gave a light chuckle both at his situation and at his truthful statement. "I could imagine you alone being a handful."

"Yeah well once they think I've gone they'll probably end up playing together then I can nab them both at once."

"Wow, Sonic the hedgehog out run by five year olds?" The queen continued to toy. She moved to another counter and picked up a large bowl of tossed salad and began to move it into the dining area. Sonic followed as he couldn't leave on that comment of hers.

"Yeah, five year old spawns of the blue blur himself." Sonic rolled his eyes at his wife's snide retort. "You can't forget that fact." He reassured. But while on the topic of the kids he decided to pass on one of Sonia's questions to Sally. "Hey, what are we giving them for dinner anyway?"

Sally's eyes slid to the side of her head with an accompanying squint as they passed through the boundaries of the kitchen and the dining room. "You're asking what the kids are having for dinner?"

Sonic realized how weird it probably was asking what they were eating rather than what he was eating but it wasn't much of a secret as his eyes gazed upon a large twenty-five foot table decorated with different plates and foods. He scanned the table and right on the end of one side, like golden rays of light emulating from a hidden treasure, a large plateful of chili dogs rested, waiting to be devoured.

"Well they asked." He responded truthfully, successfully hiding his glee at the sight of his one favorite food.

"I put aside some parmesan chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and some pudding for dessert."

No chili dogs. Sonic kind of felt bad for his kids; he knew how disappointed he'd be if he didn't get any chili dogs if he wanted them. Especially since they were sitting right there on the table.

Sally continued to move from one area of the table onto the next to see if everything was set and ready. She turned her head over to shoulder to address the hedgehog. "Can you go round them up and give them their bath now?" She didn't sound too rushed but he followed her command regardless.

"Yeah."

Sonic moved out of the dining room to attend to his menacing kids thinking of how to break it to them that they aren't getting their favorite for dinner. It wasn't the first time – at all – but he was kind of feeling a bit sympathetic for them and wanted to do something special. Besides, what father would he be if he didn't treat his kids every once in a while.

He opened the door to the twins' bedroom and stood right in the middle of it. He found them playing on the floor with their action figures just as he expected. "Alright kids, time for your baths." He proclaimed playing the bad guy.

"Owwwwhhhh!" They all sighed, dropping the toys they had in their hands.

"You knew this was coming, now head to the bath–" But Sonic could see the mischievous looks the two were giving each other during his short proclamation. Before he could finish, the two bolted toward the door to try and run past him but he swooped his arms down and swung them over his shoulders.

This caused and eruption of laughter from the kids. "You thought you could out-speed me?!" He said playfully as he took a step into the room to get out of the doorway. The kids began to giggle even more as he started to twirl around with them still on his shoulder. Giggle-filled shouts of playful terror emulated from the twins' tiny throats.

He started to slow down to get back focused on the task. "Again! Again!" They yelped simultaneously. "Oh no, you have a bath to take. Maybe after dinner so you can blow chunks everywhere."

"Ewwww!" They said as one again, answering to Sonic's joke. The head-hog readjusted and held them like logs under his arms and headed to the bathroom. He moved in and kicked the bathroom door closed behind him with his only free appendage so that the kids wouldn't escape.

"What is for dinner anyway?" Sonia asked again. Sonic was a bit silent as he turned the dials to the bath with his right hand. He took off the glove of his left hand and immediately began running it under the water pouring from the spigot to test the temperature.

"Parmesan chicken." He said not looking forward the extended sigh of disappointment that followed.

"We wanted chili dogs…" Manik began to moan. Sonia let out a similar sigh as she was taking off her shirt and pants in preparation for their bath. She had a bad habit of taking her shoes off last for some strange reason.

Suddenly Sonic got an idea. "Well… there might be some chili dogs for ya." He said with a grin. He turned off the water and

The kids' faces lit up and their tiny fists shook in excitement. "There is?!" They said together again, an act the two were very well at performing.

"But we have to be real sneaky and real quick to get them." He started to whisper which only antagonized the kids even more.

They followed suit as they got closer and whispered as well. "_Oh we will!"_

"Alright." The whispers ensued. "This is what we're going to do…"

…

The clocked ticked ever closer to the appointed time of the party. Sally was finishing up the last touches of the arrangements. She was surprised Lara-su hadn't arrived yet though. She had said she was spending the day with Argyle but Sally didn't think their date would take this long. She was also surprised Sonic hasn't called for reinforcements yet – a common event when dealing with the youngsters especially when it came to a bath. "Sonic! How's the bath going?" She yelled to the open space of the penthouse but there was only silence. "Peculiar…" She mumbled under her breath. She moved out of the kitchen and tried again. "Sonic?!" She called out.

Suddenly there was tiny blue flash followed by a gust of wind. Sally threw her arm in front of her face in reaction as squinted her eyes naturally from the air blast. "MANIK!" She shouted.

The young hedgehog stopped and was found bouncing on top of the couch. "You got to catch me! You got to catch me!" He proudly proclaimed with a giggle succeeding the rules of the game he was playing.

Sally stormed over clearly unhappy. "Manik, you get over here this instant!" The queen sputtered through gritted teeth as she thrust her finger toward the ground at her feet.

The tiny blue prince just chuckled and bolted off again.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Sonia peeked their heads around the corner of the hall and living room to scope out the area. "I think we're clear." He whispered. The two quickly tiptoed across the living room and into the dining room. Manik kept the queen distracted by making rounds about the island counters in the kitchen in the next room. As Sonic and the princess came into view of the platter of chili dogs, their eyes grew large.

"Look at all the chili dogs!" Sonia exclaimed in a whisper that was borderline regular speech.

"Shh! Let's grab the loot and get out of here." Sonic gave his daughter a smile as he pressed his finger against his lips. Sonia giggled profusely. Sonic reached over the table and gently picked up the plate of delectables. As he brought it farther from the table, Sonia began hopping up and down and lightly clapping her hands in exuberant glee.

"Exit stage left." He moved the plate over so Sonia could take the other end as she did. In order to keep the plate level and to prevent any chili dogs from falling and surely making a mess on the floor right before the party, an occurrence neither wanted to deal with due to a certain someone's wrath, Sonic held his end of the plate near his waist as Sonia held it with arms fully extended over her head.

They began to trot through the living room to bring the platter back to their living quarters. "Quick, before your mother finds out!" Sonic called out in their escape. Sonia could not contain herself and was giggling through the whole getaway, dashing across the carpet in nothing but the shoes on her feet still half ready for the bath that they were currently delaying. Sonic couldn't help but let out a sneer as he too made his way home free. He was only hoping his crown wouldn't fall off again.

Though the king and his daughter got away with the goods, the heist was not over. Sally continued to chase Manik around the confines of the kitchen, not quiet able to match his speed. Finally she called for backup. "Sonic! I need you to get Manik!" She shouted.

Almost perfectly on time, the king came down from the living quarters and stomped to the kitchen. "Manik Acorn! Get over here right now and take your bath!" He shouted angrily.

"Catch me! Catch me!" He continued to shout. "Catch me! Catch–" But the next thing he knew he was already in the arms of the speedster that was his father.

"I'm going to have to tell Lara-su to take away your toys. I TOLD you to stop." The larger hedgehog fumed as he walked away with the smaller hedgehog.

"Dad no!" The prince pleaded in distraught regret.

Sally let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks darling." She managed to slip in before Sonic disappeared down the hallway.

Sonic moved into the twins' room and closed the door behind him. He set Manik down and got to his level. "Great job bucko! You're mother bought every second of it!" He immediately switched tones and put his hand in the air, offering a high five to the youngster.

"Yeah!" Manik shouted as he jumped up to slap his father's raised hand.

"Hey, I helped too!" Sonia announced.

Sonic leaned over to her next with a closed fist. "I know." He said as the child gave him the fist pound he was looking for. "Couldn't have done it without you!" He turned to Manik again. "Both of you." He then scooted over to their prize that sat on the floor waiting to be devoured. "Now let's enjoy some good ole chili dogs." He said rubbing his hands together and licking his lips.

The three reached for a dog and impatiently chomped down on their first bite. The looks of content were recognizable simply through their shut eyes and ear-to-ear grins as they savored the succulent flavor of their favorite food. But all good things had to come to an end.

"**SONIC OLGIVIE MAURICE ACORN!**" Sonic's eyes popped open and revealed pupils the size of the moon as the frightening shriek emulated through the walls. The trio's jig was up.


End file.
